Syllabus

What is this class?

The technical name is: Skill Lab: Introduction to the R Statistical Programming Language and Environment. You can just call it the “R Skill Lab” though.

Who am I?

My name is Shelly (she/her), and I’m the instructor. You can reach me via the contact form on the homepage of this site, or you can email me at shelly.cooper@wustl.edu.

What will you learn in this class?

By the end of the class, you will have learned:

• The fundamentals of programming with R statistical software. This includes objects, data classes, functions, data wrangling, plotting/graphing, and making reproducible reports
• A theoretical foundation for the principles of data visualization

What’s the course philosophy?

Programming is increasingly becoming a demanding skill across a wide variety of fields, including public health, psychology, neuroscience, and other social sciences. The goal of this course is for you to leave understanding core fundamentals of applied programming. Although we will use R software, the core concepts should carry with you to other programming languages (Python, MATLAB etc.).

The only difference between a beginner and expert programmer, is that the expert is better at Googling”.

My goal is to get you to the point where you can effectively Google R-related questions and mostly understand the results.

What do you need for this course?

You’ll need 4 things:

1. You need R and it’s buddy RStudio. The first lecture video will show you how to install these.
2. You need this website – most of the content will take place on this website.
3. You need access to our class Canvas page. This is where your you’ll submit your assignments and complete your code reviews.
4. You need access to our Slack workspace. This is where we will mainly communicate. You can post to threads that the entire class can see (akin to raising your hand to ask a question), or you can directly message me. We can share code snippets, and I will answer questions here. The goal is that Slack replaces email for class-related, non-sensitive topics.

How do I get a good grade?

There are no exams! Hooray! To get a good grade in this class, you simply need to do the following:

• Homework Assignments will be posted on the course website.
  • If you want to use one of your own datasets for these, please let me know ahead of time so we can make sure it has certain characteristics that work with the assignments. Otherwise, I’ll post a dataset to Canvas that you can use.
  • Each assignment is worth 15 points and there will be 4 of them for a total of 60 points
  • Each day an assignment is late, I will remove 2 points unless you contact me and we discuss other arrangements
  • The grading rubric is posted on Canvas. Most important is that you answer every question, including if I ask for an explanation about something. If you are ever unsure about what I am asking, please just ask!
• Peer Reviews After each homework assignment, you will be randomly assigned to a peer in your class, and you will review the code from each other’s homework assignment. You will fill out several discussion prompts on Canvas about your peer’s code. The goal is for you to gain experience in reading other peoples’ code and for you to obtain consistent feedback from someone other than the instructor.
  • Each peer review assignment will be worth 10 points and there will be 4 of them for a total of 40 points possible.
  • Points will be taken away if the prompts are not completely answered. For example, if I ask for 2 good things about your peers’ code, and you only provide 1 example, points will be taken away from your code review assignment. Please note that I provide the prompts and you need to answer exactly those questions! This is not a free for all code review.

$$\text{Homeworks (60pts) + Peer Reviews (40pts)}=\text{100 Total Points}$$

Learning From a Crappy Year

The 2020-2021 academic year sucked. But instead of burying our heads in the sand and forgetting it existed, let’s at least extract some things and incorporate them into our lives. For this class, here’s what that means:

• It is OK to not be OK. If you tell me you’re having trouble, I’m not going to judge you or think less of you. I hope you will do the same for me. I will work with you to make sure we have a reasonable plan in place should something come up. However, this does require you telling me “hey, I’m not OK”.
• You are always welcome to come talk to me about things that you’re going through. If I can’t help you, I usually know someone who can help – or I can at least give you some resources and point you in the right direction.
• If you are struggling or need extra help, please just ask. I promise I will work with you.

Last year was lonely. And since this class is asynchronous and remote, it might be lonely again this semester. Here’s how we’re going to combat this:

• Your peer review will be with the same person for all 5 weeks. This way, you’ll get to know your buddy. Take advantage of this! Be friends!
• We will have a dedicated class Slack workspace (see homepage for link). You can post questions that everyone can see, or make use of direct messaging. Shelly will respond to your questions on Slack (if your peers don’t respond first!). This is really great for one-off questions, or if you need some quick clarification on something. We will also have a dedicated channel for silly programming and stats memes, because humor is important when you’re learning a skill like coding, in which you’ll repeatedly fail. Slack is not required per se, but it is highly encouraged.

Online Etiquette

We will be making use of discussion threads on Canvas. Students are expected to maintain a polite and respectful tone in their online discourse. Some things to consider:

• Any communication shared privately may become public, so be mindful of what you share in discussion boards or chats. This is especially true for sharing any personal and/or identifying information about you or someone else. Do not share any passwords or divulge any personal information (yours or others) that can be used in a malicious manner (phone numbers, addresses etc.).
• Humor doesn’t always translate in an online forum. If you want to make a joke or a sarcastic remark, be 100% sure that it is clear you are joking.
• Your comments must be readable to everyone, therefore I ask that you please refrain from using shortcuts. For example, please type out “you” instead of “u”. Very common acronyms are OK (“lol” or “haha”). But please refrain from acronyms that are not as well-known (“fwiw” etc.).
• Treat your classmates and professor with kindness and respect. Any indication of online harassment or bullying will not be tolerated and will be reported. This is especially pertinent when giving constructive feedback in code reviews.
• Please avoid using ALL CAPS because it can be interpreted as yelling.

Academic Policies & Resources

• University Code of Conduct
  • Any student found guilty of academic misconduct, such as cheating, plagiarizing, forgery, or furnishing false information to a University official will be subject to consequences including failing the class, suspension from the University, or expulsion from the University.
• Special accommodations (such as a learning, sensory, or physical disability or any other diagnosis that requires special accommodations and/or assistance with lectures, reading, written assignments, and/or exam taking)
  • Contact Disability Resources at disabilityresources@wustl.edu or call 314-935-5970
  • Please contact me as soon as possible if you need special accommodations. Once I have the Accommodation Letter from Disability Resources, we can discuss ways to modify the course experience for you.
• Mental & Physical Health:
  • Habif Health and Wellness Center, email HabifInfo@wustl.edu or call 314-935-6666
• WUSTL Police Department
  • On campus emergency, please call 314-935-5555
• Relationship or sexual violence, including sexual harassment and stalking
  • Contact a licensed RSVP counselor (confidential, with some limited information being shared as needed with the appropriate university administrator) at rsvpcenter@wustl.edu or call 314-935-3445
  • Contact the University’s Title IX Director, Ms. Jessica Kennedy, at jwkennedy@wustl.edu or call 314-935-3118
  • PLEASE NOTE You can always come talk to me. Period. However, if you come to me with any issues surrounding child abuse, suicidal tendencies, or sexual assault, sexual discrimination, sexual harassment, dating violence, domestic violence or stalking, I am required to report these to their appropriate administrators. Washington University faculty and administrators strive to maintain confidentiality, but some information may need to be disclosed when it is a matter of safety.